In Europe, Christmas is celebrated on a larger scale than New Year, so the main tourist flow subsides on December 25th. This can work to your advantage if you like the New Year holidays more, because flying on vacation in the last week of the year turns out to be not at all expensive. In Cologne, Milan, Vienna or Prague you can spend 6 nights and spend 300 euros, not counting spending on Christmas markets and entertainment, which are impossible to resist!
Cologne
Photo: @jollybuggy/@max___power /Instagram.com
The ancient city on the banks of the Rhine is actually very young; after the Second World War, only the famous Cologne Cathedral remained undamaged, but you yourself would never guess it – the Germans did their best and painstakingly restored every street of the historical center. And during the Christmas holidays, as if by magic, it turns into a fairy-tale world shining with bright lights, with elves and angels staging themed performances on the main streets. The Cologne Christmas market is one of the largest in Europe. Near the Cathedral, more than 100 stalls are set up with sweets, decorations, household utensils and everything you can imagine as a gift for a holiday that unites adults and children, and in the center of the square stands a huge shining Christmas tree. Having recharged yourself with the New Year’s mood in Cologne, you should go ice skating on a large outdoor skating rink, walk along snow-covered streets, drink hot grog in cozy cafes and be sure to take a river walk along the Rhine, during which you can take in the entire city in elegant decoration at a glance.
Flight Moscow-Cologne December 26: from 6,024 rubles
Flight Cologne- Moscow January 1: from 4,016 rubles
Accommodation: from 12,258 rubles for 6 nights for 1 person
Total for 6 nights in Cologne: from 22,298 rubles
Milan
The capital of fashion and shopping begins to prepare for the celebrations long before the New Year, namely on December 7, the feast of Sant’Ambrogio, when the entire city, including houses, cathedrals, trees and even trams, is decorated with Christmas lights, and fairgrounds are set up on the central streets. sweets and handicrafts. However, there is something to do in Milan, even if you have already prepared all the New Year’s gifts and are not eager to walk through the shopping arcades. In the weeks leading up to New Year’s, the city’s museums and churches host happy hours, during which shows and exhibits are heavily discounted. Milan is the best place to see the diversity of art and architecture: the Gothic Cathedral and the elegant Opera House, the Church of St. Lorenzo, painted by Michelangelo himself, and luxurious restaurants with eccentric avant-garde design – all striking in contrast and never fail to delight. As for the holidays themselves, on Christmas in Milan it is customary to go to masses, which take place in all cathedrals, including the English-language one in Chiesa Santa Maria del Carmine, and on New Year’s Eve – dance until dawn in super-modern nightclubs or watch a grandiose fireworks on Piazza Duomo.
Flight+hotel to Milan from December 26 to January 1: from 20,038 rubles
Vienna
Photo: @viennascene/@emmabums/Instagram.com
New Year’s holidays in Vienna are accompanied by classical music; moreover, if you come here at the end of December, you will not have a single chance to miss the concerts – even if you don’t go to the cathedrals and opera halls on purpose, but just walk around the city, you can a day to attend several street performances by talented musicians, which are also accompanied by bright fireworks and pyrotechnic shows. The most grandiose musical performances take place in the Cathedral of St. Stefan, throughout the month they play works by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and other virtuosos of past centuries. Having received aesthetic pleasure from the melodies that have gone down in history, you can move on to more mundane, gastronomic pleasures – Viennese Christmas markets are not created for those who are on a diet; the seductive aroma paralyzes even the most persistent willpower. And even if you can resist roasted chestnuts, gingerbread and caramel, do not deny yourself the traditional warming drink – Weihnachtspunsch Christmas punch. Usually at fairs it is served in beautiful mugs, for which they ask for a deposit, thereby hinting that they can be kept as a souvenir. As for the holiday itself, on New Year’s Eve the historical center of the city turns into one huge entertainment venue with theatrical shows, musicians and DJs, where residents and guests of the city walk and have fun all day and night long.
Flight Moscow-Vienna December 26: from 8,496 rubles
Flight Vienna- Moscow January 1: from 8,496 rubles
Accommodation: from 17,711 rubles for 6 nights for 1 person
Total 6 nights in Vienna: from 34,703 rubles
Prague
Photo: @visitcz/@zhukova_dasha_/Instagram.com
If in Vienna and Milan Friday naturally happens once a week, then in the capital of the Czech Republic there are seven of them, according to the saying. And when it comes to December, every day there is a cheerful New Year’s party in every establishment. There are no such number of pubs and bars as in the historical center of Prague anywhere in the world, so the Christmas holidays in this city will be difficult to remember, but impossible to forget. However, we advise lovers of noisy companies and fun parties not to forget to keep an eye on the time, the hours fly by behind the bar, but at exactly midnight on December 31 it is better to go out into the fresh air so as not to miss the grandiose fireworks that are simultaneously launched throughout the city. The best places to watch the enchanting show are in the central square and on the embankment, and if you are willing to give up the money saved on an inexpensive flight for a truly fantastic view, go on a river cruise and celebrate the New Year on a cruise ship.
Flight Moscow-Prague December 26: from 6,822 rubles
Flight Prague- Moscow January 1: from 7,637 rubles
Accommodation: from 11,154 rubles for 6 nights for 1 person
Total 6 nights in Prague: from 25,613 rubles
If you don’t want to go abroad for the New Year (or it’s not possible), then
Moscow
Photo: @kukla_voodoo/@elena_dhn/Instagram.com
Brightly decorated streets, a huge city Christmas tree and themed performances are not only found in European cities. Moscow is not limited to business centers; in our capital there are a lot of parks and estates that dress up in sparkling outfits for the New Year holidays. Neskuchny and Botanical Gardens, Izmailovsky Park, Hermitage Garden, Sparrow Hills, Sokolniki and Gorky Park – this is not a complete list of places where you can walk in the frosty air, drink aromatic mulled wine and take a hundred pictures in the New Year’s mood. If you like sledding and ice skating, in Moscow in winter the park paths, ice slides and artificial skating rinks are flooded. On New Year’s Eve in Moscow it is difficult to find a quiet place, but who needs it when the chimes can be heard not on TV, but right on Red Square!
The cost of a flight or train ticket depends on the distance.
Accommodation: from 420 rubles per day
* Prices for flights and accommodation are indicated at the time of writing. The cost indicated in the material and the final price may differ.
Text author: Irina Krokhaleva
